Devcom-Pakistan initiates Pakistan Mountains Pride Awards

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ISLAMABAD: Development Communications Network- Devcom-Pakistan launched the first Pakistan Mountains Pride Awards by conferring awards in the name of five living legends having pioneering contribution in community development, mountaineering and conservation.

The awards were distributed during the concluding session of the 9th edition of Pakistan Mountain Festival which was held at the Islamabad campus of Comsat University.    Ambassador of Nepal in Islamabad Sewa Lamsal and Australian Deputy High Commissioner Breck distributed the awards among the nominees.

Syed Yahya Shah and Jan Alam received the Shoaib Sultan Khan Community Development Award for their services in community development in Gilgit-Baltistan.  Shoaib Sultan is the pioneer of rural development programmes in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral who led the foundation of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in 1982.

Abdul Ghafoor Chillasi and Mansoor Ali Shabab was given Ustad Jan Ali Mountain Music Award. Ustad Jan Ali is an acclaimed Shina poet.
Agostino Da Polenza Mountain Conservation Award was conferred upon conservationist Ashiq Ahmad Khan. Polenza is world-famed Italian mountaineer and president of the Everest-K2-Committee for Natural Resources (Ev-K2-CNR).

Late Tsuneo Miyamori received Nazir Sabir Mountaineering Award.  Japanese mountain climber Miyamori has pioneering contribution in the field of mountaineering in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Ashraf Aman Adventure Tourism Award was given away to Aftab Rana for his contribution in promoting sustainable mountain tourism. Ashraf Aman is the first Pakistani to reach the summit of K2.  He has a pioneering contribution in promoting adventure tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Pakistan Mountain Festival was held in collaboration with Food and Agricultural Organisation, WaterAid, Centre for Climate Research and Development (CCRD) and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF).